Letters to the Editor

Every week hundreds of Globe readers email letters to the editor. Among them is a group of dedicated letter writers, some of whom write in almost daily.

In August, #GlobeLetters Editor Matthew Bernstein met with a roomful of contributors at the Globe’s downtown office to offer them a window into the editing process — and to finally put faces and voices to his most regular bylines.

JULIAN'S LETTERS BELOW (Click links to read full letter.)

FYI: The Boston Globe has a paywall for most articles.

2020 - 2024

July 7, 2024 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

Reggie Jackson’s reflections on a segregated Alabama

History teaches us never to forget, and Jackson’s searing recollections show that even as we move on, the pain remains.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

May 5, 2024 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

The narrative of the Black American is filled with assumptions

Yes, we need to understand the complex history and culture of “Black America,” but don’t prescribe that story to any one person. We owe that to Black America; we owe it to each other.

—Julian Kenneth Braxton

December 31, 2023 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

2023: the year in Globe readers’ own words

Through it all, one saving grace is that Globe readers have brought insight, passion, indignation, and humor to the unending task of making sense of the world. Here’s a look back at 2023 as seen through the lens of letters to the editor.

December 8, 2023 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

Reliving the Charles Stuart case (though it’s never left us)

It has been moving to see many people taking to social media to share their reflections after reading the paper’s investigation. Part of confronting the sins of the past is to delve deep so people can heal. May that healing begin.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

July 8, 2023 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

New landscape, same challenges with the end of affirmative action

How shameful and repugnant that this policy has been associated with being “less than” when you have to be twice as good as your white counterpart to thrive in these spaces.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

February 16, 2023 - THE NEW YORK TIMES

Black Studies Course: ‘A Dream Deferred’

The College Board missed an opportunity to take a stand for truth, and students are the ones to lose.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

December 6, 2022 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

The citizenship test — hint: It’s about a lot more than just voting

The Constitution requires every immigrant to this country to pass a civics test to become a naturalized citizen. If that could only be standard for all citizens. A good citizen is an informed citizen, ready to engage and take a stand on the issues that matter most. — Julian Kenneth Braxton

July 14, 2021 - THE NEW YORK TIMES

How the News Media Vilified Black Americans

The question is not whether historically white newspapers contributed to white supremacy; clearly they did. It’s how they contributed to it, and what they are doing to ensure that this doesn’t happen again.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

March 1, 2021 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

Boston exam schools flunk the diversity test

It is a crisis that the test maker accused Boston schools of misusing the exam. And it is a crisis that year after year, we’ve watched this happen and nothing has changed. This can no longer be one of the city’s priorities; this must be the sole priority. Change is the only way to respond to a crisis. Let the work begin, finally.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton, Boston

December 26, 2020 - THE BOSTON GLOBE

9 months of coronavirus coping strategies, one postcard at a time

Indeed, even during this time of uncertainty, I have so much to be thankful for.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

February 8, 2020 - THE NEW YORK TIMES

How Politics Plays Out in Textbooks

We must teach our students how to do the work of historians by being investigators of the past, and the first step in the process is to question everything. Clearly, we can no longer depend on textbooks to tell the story.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

2012- 2019

September 18, 2019

THE BOSTON GLOBE

The Rev. Michael Haynes lifted the city and its residents

I am among the many African-Americans in the city whom he encouraged and mentored. Boston is a better city because of the Rev. Haynes, and I am a better person because I knew him.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

June 6, 2019

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Reclaiming his space at the MFA

The MFA appears to use this watershed moment to bring about long-overdue change. The museum is sponsoring a series of forums on racial diversity and inclusion for area educators, and I look forward to adding my voice to this important conversation.

- Julian Kenneth Braxton

May 14, 2019

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Harsh court of opinion in case of Harvard faculty dean

Harvard alumnus and future president John Adams, at the risk of his reputation and personal safety, defended a group of British soldiers involved in the Boston Massacre, at their trial in 1770. Adams did this because he knew the importance of modeling principle and rule of law above personal beliefs. This notion has become a core attribute and foundation of American jurisprudence.

- Julian Kenneth Braxton

March 7, 2019

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Trump insider’s cameo appearance is hardly last word on issue of race

Moreover, people in cross-racial friendships who are not having direct and real conversations about race and racism don’t have much of a friendship. Over and over again, we keep saying that we need to have an honest conversation about race in America. At the very least, shouldn’t that conversation begin with our friends?

-Julian Kenneth Braxton

July 18, 2018

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Trying to Help a Homeless Woman

Nakesha’s story is a call to action for us. We must make tackling both homelessness and mental health a national priority. This will help ensure her living was not in vain.

- Julian Kenneth Braxton

April 22, 2018

THE BOSTON GLOBE

In police response at Starbucks, human decency was bypassed

We have a moral responsibility to put action behind our words. As James Baldwin once said, “I am terrified at the moral apathy, the death of the heart, which is happening in my country. These people deluded themselves for so long that they really don’t think I’m human. I base this on their conduct, not on what they say.

-Julian Kenneth Braxton

December 17, 2017

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Spotlight on racism reveals a splintered city

The Boston Globe series is the first substantive discussion on race and Boston I’ve seen. It is my hope that the series will lead to a reckoning of sorts, helping Boston confront its past and evaluate its present condition. This is the only path forward to defining a new Boston for future generationsoriginalism.”

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

August 22, 2017

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Point, counterpoint plays out on Boston Common

Let's celebrate Saturday's unity and clarity of purpose, but we must keep on moving and fighting for right. In the words of civil rights activist Ella Baker, “We who believe in freedom cannot rest.”

-Julian Kenneth Braxton

July 18, 2017

THE NEW YORK TIMES

The South Leads on Race

It’s no wonder that young African-Americans are moving to the South. Black folks have become part of a critical mass ready to redefine “the New South.”

- Julian Kenneth Braxton

April 4, 2017

THE BOSTON GLOBE

"Originalism' is unconstitutional

Constitutionalism must be about trying to figure out how to live up to the highest ideals of liberty and justice, and not about trying to figure out the potential limits of those liberties embodied in a Constitution created by some deeply flawed men. Simply put, constitutionalism must be about including everyone, and this is something the Framers had no capacity to envision.

- Julian Kenneth Braxton

December 27, 2016

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Donald Trump, Race and Identity Politics

It’s pretty simple: For Mr. Trump to know black America, he needs to begin by seeing us as individuals! This will go a long way in ending his implicit bias.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

JULY 12, 2016

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Tired of having to react to tragedy when we should be preventing it

Officers must address the “implicit and explicit racial bias” highlighted in the Justice Department report. This bias still remains deeply engrained in too much of our society. The federal government once again holds the key to ensuring justice in these recent cases. It must take action. This will ensure that the victims’ deaths are not in vain.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

May 31, 2016

THE NEW YORK TIMES

How Gentrification Is Changing the Face of HarlemSadly, a rallying cry of the anti-gentrification movement — “development without displacement” — has fallen on deaf ears in my beloved Harlem.— Julian Kenneth Braxton

MARCH 19, 2016 THE BOSTON GLOBE

Schools should be proactive against bias, not reactiveSchools must take a proactive stance against hate and injustice. Educators and school leaders must ensure that curriculums offer serious examination and opportunity for reflection about explicit and implicit racial, ethnic, and religious bias.— Julian Kenneth Braxton

January 17, 2016 THE BOSTON GLOBE Time and again, our nation’s response to fear has been hate Many of the lessons of the past teach us what not to do. We are a nation founded on the highest ideals of liberty and justice, but these ideals are meaningless unless we stay true to them when they are challenged. We must remember the Know-Nothings because they remind us that we must be better than our past.— Julian Kenneth Braxton

August 23, 2015

BOSTON GLOBE MAGAZINE

Readers respond to stories on anti-Semistism in Bedford and a lack of economic opportunity on Cape Cod

It’s no wonder that young African-Americans are moving to the South. Black folks have become part of a critical mass ready to redefine “the New South.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

December 3, 2014

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Culture of anti-blackness still plagues our nation

We seem stuck on trying to figure out what’s racist, but calling out anti-blackness will go a long way in getting to the root case of racism in our society.

.— Julian Kenneth Braxton

JULY 11, 2013

THE BOSTON GLOBE

Progress aside, we are duty bound to beware limits to Voting Rights Act

Ideas always seem to come as a reaction to injustice. Police departments must take a proactive stance against racial bigotry.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

May 6, 2012

THE BOSTON GLOBE

We can define city we love by speaking out

I am so glad I made Boston home, but we Bostonians must not let the racists define us, using Twitter or other means to convey their hate. The more we speak out, the more those of us who stayed get to define the Boston we know and love.

— Julian Kenneth Braxton

Letters to the Editor by Julian Kenneth Braxton

2020 - 2024

2012- 2019